


Longing

by iavenjqasdf



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-16
Packaged: 2018-12-27 13:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12081942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iavenjqasdf/pseuds/iavenjqasdf
Summary: Where'd you go? / I miss you so / Seems like it's been forever / That you've been gone





	1. Longing

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, I hate myself for that summary more than you ever could.
> 
> For day 4 of Udobure week!
> 
> Chapter 1 is straight angst, while chapter ̶2̶ 3 will (eventually!) give this a happy ending, so keep that in mind if angst isn't your thing.

“Brady, I promise-“

“Shaddup with ‘yer promises! Ya told me we’d be together forever!”

“And I meant it! Every day that I’m away, you’ll be with me, in my thoughts and heart always.”

“That ain’t the same, and I know ya know it!”

Owain sighed, running his fingers through his messy hair. He let the bag slung across his shoulder fall to the floor as he melted onto the couch beside the sobbing Brady.

Brady felt Owain’s arm drape over his shoulders, a gesture that had never failed to bring some comfort to the priest, and as much as he wished it wouldn’t now, wished he’d be able to _hate_ Owain for doing this to him, it still did.

Brady’s sobs tapered off into smaller sniffles, waning like the light of the candle smoldering down to the base atop the kitchen table.

“Ya couldn’t even wait ‘till mornin’?” he asked at length.

Owain sadly shook his head. “Inigo and Severa promised to meet me by dawn; I barely had a moment to spare coming back here to pack.”

Brady sighed shakily, carefully leaving the warmth of Owain’s half-embrace to slink over to the window. Even in the dead of night, Ylisstol shone; twinkling lampposts along the road and lanterns glimmering above doorways made it look as if the city was besieged by lightningbugs.

“How long till ya come back?” Brady managed, feeling the spasms in his throat and the tears rising in his eyes already making their return.

“I don’t know,” Owain admitted, “but I swear to return to you the first moment I’m able.”

Not knowing what else to do, Brady dropped himself into his chair at the table, beckoning to Owain to do the same. Trembling hands carefully poured two cups of cold tea, all that had remained in the teapot from dinner.

Owain smiled, despite wateriness in his own eyes, and raised his cup to offer a toast. After a moment of thought, Brady accepted, clinking their vessels together as he slowly guzzled his tea, fighting to keep his tears at bay.

They sat together in silence; not a comfortable one, but at least one of acceptance, or understanding. There was no denying Owain’s logic; a healer would go to any lengths to save their patient, and Brady suspected the same held true for a hero, beckoned to save an entire kingdom, even if it meant leaving their love behind.

Owain stole a glance at the clock, ticking along mercilessly in the next room. “I must depart,” he murmured quietly. Brady nodded to the affirmative, not meeting Owain’s gaze as he stood.

Slinging the pack back over his shoulder, Owain paused for a moment, trying to memorize the sight of home for the last time in what could’ve been a long time. Brady took the chance to snag him in a final hug, shoulders shaking as he sobbed into the swordsman’s shoulder, taking in his comforting scent and reassuring warmth.

“Wait one sec,” Brady suddenly interjected, scrambling back into the kitchen and returning a moment later with a sack of candies in hand. “For the road,” he smiled, and Owain gratefully accepted the parting gift with a laugh.

“Alright, I’m off. Remember, fairest Brady, light of my life and salve of my soul: my love for you shall carry through the dimensions and stay with you always,” Owain smiled, cracking the front door open and feeling the chill night air on his skin.

“You too,” Brady whimpered. “And remember; if ya don’t come back alive, I’ll find ya and kill ya again.”


	2. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three that remained contemplate those than left

“Can you believe it’s been almost two years?” Lucina thought aloud, carefully inking another red tally mark beside the six hundred others crisscrossing the back of her journal.

“Sure feels like it,” Brady muttered, staring at the ceiling as he laid back on the couch. Owain had instructed him to check in on his cousin in his absence, a task that Severa had delegated to him as well. Her wording had been a bit different, of course; Lucina was her fiancée, not her cousin, and her language had been about ten times as coarse as Owain’s, but the sentiment was the same.

Gerome volunteered to accompany Brady on these visits as well, initially using the excuse that Minerva needed to stretch her wings every once in a while. Brady didn’t bother arguing; hitching a two-minute flight to the palace certainly beat a twenty-minute walk uphill. Thus, a sort of impromptu “lovers in waiting” group had formed in the trio’s absence, leaving them to discuss their memories of their respective partners and swap theories about their fates.

It had felt oddly like mourning to Brady at first, and in a way, he supposed it _was_ mourning. Owain wasn’t dead (he prayed), but he was still _gone_ , and though he’d promised to come back, there was no telling when that would happen. All any of them could do was wait, and hope for the best.

He missed the others, too. He missed Inigo’s cheery smiles and saccharine displays of adoration, much to Gerome’s embarrassment, usually. He missed Severa’s abrasive brand of affection, the odd comfort in knowing she’d be the only one allowed to pick on Brady when she was around.

But most of all, he missed Owain. Everyone’s lives had gotten a little less exciting, and a lot more quiet, since his departure, but it had hit Brady hardest of all. Even close to two years on, waking up alone in an otherwise empty bed was an eerie feeling. He kept all of Owain’s belongings just as he’d left them; no one knew what he’d be like if ( _when. Not if, when_ ) he returned, but Brady figured it would be best to keep their home as close to untouched as he could. It made the whole situation feel less permanent, less like Owain was gone forever, never to return, and more like he’d just stepped away for a bit, and would be back any moment now.

Checking the tally against her personal calendar for what must’ve been the third or fourth time, Lucina hummed sadly. “It’s her birthday tomorrow,” she stated, her low voice nonetheless heard by all in the silence of her room.

“Ya think she still remembers?” Brady wondered aloud. “Ya think they still remember… us?”

About a second later, his brain caught up with his mouth, and he struck his palm against his forehead. _Why’d I haf’ta go and be a downer like that?!_ He muttered an apology, rolling over to face the backrest before he had a chance to say something else stupid.

“No, no, that’s…” Lucina swallowed, hoping to suppress the waver in her voice. “That’s a… valid question.”

“Yeah, doubt they have time to think about birthdays, if they’re really out there saving another world,” Gerome spoke up, for what seemed like the first time that afternoon. “You remember what it was like during the war, don’t you? Just living to see another day was the only present you could really ask for.”

Gerome had seemingly ignored the second part of Brady’s earlier question, much to the priest’s relief. _Of course they remember us._ _We still remember **them** , don’t we?_

Lucina nodded with a sigh. “You’re right. We’ll just need to make sure we make up for lost time when they get back,” she declared with a confidence she wasn’t sure she had.

Gerome peered out the window whose ledge he sat on, watching a warm golden light slowly wash over Ylisstol as the sun began its descent. “Probably time we head out; I need to clean out Minerva’s pen before nightfall.”

Brady stood, giving Lucina a small hug before parting. “They’ll be back soon, I know it,” he assured, more for himself than anything else. He said the same thing after every one of these meetings; it would have to be true eventually.

“Of course,” Lucina replied. “Take care.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't finish this in this chapter as I hoped to, so look forward to more in the future hopefully.


End file.
